…Justice for nurses now
As NANNM Embarks on Strike
By Mr. Moziz S. A.
Let’s begin with a standing ovation:
To the Super Falcons, thank you.
You ran. You fought. You soared. You made us proud at the Women’s African Cup of Nations, and your victory brought joy to a weary nation. We are not just proud, we are inspired.
And to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, your gesture of awarding ₦153 million and a house to each team member was grand, generous, and unprecedented.
But now, let’s speak as Nigerians. Not critics. Not politicians. Just everyday people, with eyes open and hearts heavy.
Because while the government celebrates those who scored goals, it remains painfully silent toward those who fight to keep our nation alive, every single day.
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This same week, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) gave a 15-day ultimatum, pleading for attention, recognition, and fair treatment.
And how did the government respond?
With silence.
Loud, piercing silence.
That silence is not empty. It is telling.
It tells the ICU nurse, who manages unstable patients with failing hearts, lungs, and kidneys, that her 8 hour shift without food or rest does not matter.
It tells the theatre nurse who sometimes stands for 7 to 10 hours or more under bright lights, holding surgical tools, counting gauze, maintaining a sterile field, assisting in surgeries; often skipping meals and restroom breaks, that her precision and endurance mean nothing.
It tells the ward nurse, who manages 40 patients with barely enough gloves, charting vitals by torchlight, attending to fevers, dressings, medications, and cries in the night, that her exhaustion is not worthy of national concern.
It tells the emergency nurse, who receives accident victims, performs CPR on the roadside, and gets soaked in blood and tears, that her adrenaline-fueled sacrifice is not headline material.
It tells the midwife, who delivers babies by lantern light, comforts screaming mothers, and sometimes pronounces lifeless infants in tears, that her pain is invisible.
It tells the community nurse, who treks miles with no security or transport, just to give immunizations or treat malaria in forgotten villages, that her labour is an unworthy sacrifice.
It tells them all: “You are seen only when you are silent.”
Dear Nigeria, when did we become a nation that rewards medals with millions, but ignores the hands that hold our lifelines?
We are not asking that nurses be given luxury homes and nine-digit cheques. We are saying: acknowledge the labor that sustains the nation.
We are saying: if a football team deserves ₦153 million and a house for a trophy, surely a nurse deserves better than ₦35,000 a month and a uniform allowance that can’t even sew two scrubs.
This is not jealousy.
This is justice.
Because if tomorrow you fall sick, it won’t be the Super Falcons who insert your IV line, monitor your oxygen, check your blood pressure every hour, administer your drugs, change your soiled linens, pray silently as you drift between life and death, it will be a nurse.
And yet, it is this nurse who is now forced to withdraw services, not out of laziness or pride, but out of deep frustration.
Because resilience without reward becomes a trap.
Because silence without justice becomes slavery.
Mr. President, it is not wrong to reward champions.
But it is wrong to ignore those who carry this country on their tired, overworked backs.
To every Nigerian watching: nurses are not demanding millions. They are demanding meals they can afford. Transport they can pay for. Rent they can meet. Dignity they can hold onto.
They are asking to live, while they help others do the same.
Tomorrow’s strike is not abandonment, it is a desperate cry from those who can no longer whisper.
Let the wards go quiet for a moment.
Let the health system pause.
Maybe then, this nation will finally hear the heartbeat of those it has chosen to ignore for too long.
We clap for the Falcons.
But we must also fight for the nurses.
Because a nation that invests in trophies and neglects lifelines is not just ungrateful, it is dangerously forgetful.
Mr. Moziz S. A.
Gombe State in
#Nursenahumantoo
#Lifelinesmatter
#NANNMstrike2025
#JusticeForNursesNow
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